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Poll: Most Americans consider IRS targeting of conservative groups politically motivated, want to see those involved jailed or fired

IRS building

The IRS apologized Friday for what it acknowledged was "inappropriate" targeting of conservative political groups during the 2012 election to see whether they were violating their tax-exempt status. In some cases, the IRS acknowledged, agents inappropriately asked for lists of donors. The agency blamed low-level employees in a Cincinnati office, saying no high-level officials were aware. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)

A new poll released Wednesday concluded that a majority of Americans want to see Internal Revenue Service employees involved in the targeting of conservative political groups jailed or fired, and that most people are skeptical of Democratic President Barack Obama's public condemnation of the practice, with as many people saying the investigations were politically motivated.

A Rasmussen Reports survey of 1,000 likely voters conducted on May 13-14 determined that 57 percent of those polled believe that politics was behind the IRS investigating Tea Party and other conservative groups applying for non-profit status leading up to the 2012 election season. Additionally, 57 percent want to see people held personally accountable for their actions as the Justice Department looks into exactly what happened leading to the targeting of groups with the words "tea party" or "patriot" in their name.

Only 16 percent of those surveyed believe the IRS investigations of these groups was a coincidence and 27 percent aren't sure what to make of the situation.

The IRS practice was revealed to the public last Friday as the government agency issued an apology for the actions of its agents.

Lois G. Lerner, director of the Exempt Organizations Division of the Internal Revenue Service, is at the center of a scandal after it was revealed the division under her supervision unfairly targeted conservative political groups leading up to the 2012 elections. (Submitted Photo)

"Western New England University has been notified that Lois Lerner, director for the IRS Exempt Organization Division, has chosen to withdraw as guest speaker for the School of Law’s Commencement ceremony this Saturday, May 18," said Barbara A. Moffat, vice president for marketing at the university. "In her notification to the University, Ms. Lerner cited her wish to have the ceremony focus on a celebration of the achievements of the graduates."

The political groups in question claim tax-exempt status under section 501 (c) (4) of the federal tax code, which is technically for social welfare groups. Unlike other charitable groups, these organizations are allowed to participate in political activities but their primary activity must be social welfare- a designation that has never been clearly defined under the law and is up to the IRS to decide upon on a case-by-case basis.

According to the IRS, applications of this type skyrocketed from 2010 to 2012 following the Supreme Court's Citizens Untied decision that overturned much of the previous campaign finance law, concluding that unlimited election spending by corporations and labor unions is constitutionally-protected "free speech."

The Rasmussen Reports survey also concluded that 55 percent of those polled think it is at least somewhat likely that the president or high-level staffers knew of the targeting of conservative groups. Comparatively, 34 percent said that it is unlikely that was the case.

The survey determined that people's perception of the actions of the IRS also vary according to political party. While 86 percent of Republicans and 60 percent of independent voters think the IRS investigations were politically motivated, only 33 percent of Democrats share the same view.

White House press secretary Jay Carney, rear, is seen on a television monitor during his daily news briefing at the White House in Washington, Tuesday, May, 14, 2013. Carney touched on various topics including the Justice Department's secretly obtaining two months of telephone records of reporters and editors for The Associated Press and IRS. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

The controversy at the IRS comes as the White House tries to fend off criticisms of its response to the 2012 terrorist attack on the consulate in Benghazi, Libya where Bay State native Glen Doherty and three others, including U.S. Ambassador to Libya Christopher Stevens, were killed. That issue came to the forefront of political discussion in the 2012 presidential election, but recent revelations revealed that administration officials scrubbed intelligence reports before turning them into talking points for public response.

At the same time, the Justice Department under Attorney General Eric Holder, who was previously implicated in a federal gun-running operation dubbed Fast and Furious, is dealing with the fallout after it secretly obtained the phone records of more than 100 journalists. The department's acquisition of the reporters' work, cell and home phone records is reportedly linked to the investigation into who within the Obama Administration leaked in May 2012 that the CIA had stopped a would-be underwear-bomber from taking down a U.S.-bound international flight near the anniversary of Osama bin Laden's death.

As the Obama Administration reels from the aforementioned situations, public opinion of the still-popular president has waned. The daily Rasmussen presidential tracking poll on Wednesday concluded that while 49 percent of Americans approve of Obama's handling of his job, that number is down from 56 percent at the end of 2012. The daily approval poll also concluded that 49 percent of Americans now disapprove of the job Obama is doing in his second term as president.